Page 18 of Devious Madness

My jaw tightens.

“He brought you to meet Marco after he’d stolen from him?” He’d tried to use her as a human shield, but Marco doesn’t care who gets killed. A woman, a child, nothing means more than money to him.

“I pick some real winners,” she whispers but I think she’s taking to herself.

“And Marco let you go?”

“Yeah. He said if I paid the money back, I could avoid the same thing happening to me.”

“And that’s why you owe all the money you were sending back home?”

“Yes. But that stupid detective kept bothering me, and Marco was getting paranoid. Megan said I should leave town until it blew over. And like a coward I agreed. She’s been making the drops for me; that’s why I wire her the cash every month.”

“She hasn’t gotten it in the last two, though.”

“And I don’t understand that.” She scoots her ass down on the seat and wiggles again, still unable to find a position that isn’t uncomfortable.

“Rurik.” She sighs my name like she’s admitting defeat in a war she’s been having with herself.

“Yeah?” I glance over at her.

“I have to pee.”

There isn’t another exit for twenty miles, but if she’s telling me she has to go, I’m sure she’s reached the emergency level of urgency.

“All right.” I slow the car and bring it over to the side of the road.

“What are you doing? Not here.” She sits up and peers out into the darkness.

“Where would you like to go, Princess?” I throw the car into park.

“To a gas station or something, not in an open field!”

“Well, there is no gas station or something around here. You’ll have to piss in the grass.” I gesture for her to get a move on.

“Fine.” She growls and twists around until her back is to me. Thrusting her wrists up at me as best she can. “Take it off.”

I laugh. “Not yet.”

“I have to pee,” she reiterates. “How can I do that with this on?”

“Good point.” I turn off the car just to be sure she’s not able to jump over the console and take off.

Not that she’d get far without the ability to control the wheel, but Mira is resourceful.

And she can’t be trusted yet.

When I open her door, she jumps down onto the grass, and I have to grab hold of her to keep her from falling on her face.

“Do you ever look before you jump?” I mutter, helping her walk a little ways away from the car.

Once we’re in the grass, I let her go. “All right. Go.”

There’s enough light from the interior of the car shining on her for me to make out her glower of annoyance.

“I need my hands, Rurik,” she demands.

“Right. Your pants.” I step up to her and grab hold of the front of her jeans.

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